Anecdotes

I must have enjoyed the Humilaria, as I joined the vessel on 11th May 1972 and left on 1st May 1973. I remember that the air-conditioning was always malfunctioning, so there was many a night spent sleeping on deck. People moan about their work today, and it was no different all those years ago, but I remember a time when there was more cameraderie and less selfishness and greed than there is today.

I remember leaving home in the dead of winter, was it BOAC then I cannot remember, remember joining the Humilaria as 3rd Mate in Whangarei, NZ, The flight was long westwards, stopped in Fiji for one night in nice hotel on beach before last leg with ANZ to Auckland. Small 10 seater flight from Auckland to Whangarei.
Great ship, great crew, and coasting on the NZ coast in Summer.
Besides working, was the chosen one by I think Captain Turnbull to hire a car from Mount Monganui and drive the three wife's up to Rotorua to see the boiling mud and geysers. Will try and sort out the photographs sometime. The refinery was at Whangarei and we spent some happy times on the NZ coast visiting Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington, Napier and Mount Monganui. In 2010 my wife and I did a MOTORHOME swap with an Auckland couple and DID NZ for two months during Jan and Feb. Great time and visited all the places I had been to 46 years before. The Statue of Pamia of the reef at Napier I had a photograph taken in 1964 and compared the same position in 2010........some resemblance but not much. No sign of any of the markings of ships on the cliff at Napier, went especially to have a look.
I am retired now and will be 70 in September, living in Comrie, Perthshire.
Humilaria took us to some interesting places, Geelong, Great Barrier Reef and up to Singapore.
Really happy ship, and thanks to all that filled up my suitcase with French letters and bloomers from the rag bag when leaving ship in Singapore. British Customs gave me a .big wink at Heathrow !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I joined Humilaria at Hebburn on 14.10.66 & did the full 13 months before she paid off in Nov '77. I was a first trip fireman and worked alongside Ron from Evesham,his mate Eddie from Bristol and a great lad called Billy Monroe from Sunderland. Another good mate was John Milne the pumpman from Liverpool.I remember Alexander Clark and the 1st cook jumping ship in New Orleans-I recall the day actually and I wondered what happened to them.Also to the other good friends I met on that trip. It was a long trip on a very hot ship but I enjoyed it all and would go back tomorrow and do it again if i could. (I'm 66 tomorrow) If anyone out there remembers me I would be pleased to hear from them. We berthed in Boston I think Christmas eve 1966 and I had the night off. I recall some decent local bloke bringing me back safely after finding me completely blathered in a snowdrift. I have a few stories about the trip some of which I can't repeat here but I remember one of the generators going out of control and we pulled into Hoboken for repairs for a couple of days. Happy days-regards to Alex and anyone else reading